They Shall Have Stars

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

L'Envoi

Three years ago today, more or less by accident, I started blogging. Wednesday before last it struck me, within a brief span of hours, that I am through with blogging. I thought I'd wait a week or two and see if the prescript reversed itself; but it hasn't.

Several factors came together into alignment. Main factor is, it's getting harder and harder for me to find anything new and fresh to blog about. In my very first blog post I expressed reservations about eventually running out of things to say and falling into repetition. So. After five years in the blogosphere, three years blogging, and 951 blog posts, I reckon it's time to hang it up.

In the often uncivilized Wild West of blogdom, I've been unusually blessed in the caliber of readers and commenters my blog has attracted. Good, decent, intelligent, civil people, every one of you. I want to thank you for making these past three years worth all the effort. It really has been a joy.

Thanks to my lurkers, and that means first and foremost thanks to Refugee from Houston, who's been with me from the very beginning. Thanks to my brother Steven. Thanks to Greg in Madison, and John in Las Vegas. Thanks to Eunice and Val and Norlin.

Thanks to those lurkers, regular or occasional, whom I've come to recognize in my stats, even if I can't put a name to them: Netscape 4("OS Unknown") from Dublin; Opera 9 from Zionsville, Indiana; Firefox for Linux from San Jose; Cleveland, and Boulder, and Seattle, and Tampa Bay, and Phoenix, and Arlington Virginia, and Springfield Illinois, and Hillsdale Michigan, and Vancouver BC; those two cohorts from Emeryville California and Dublin Ireland; and Konqueror from Paris, and Google Reader from Berlin, and Feedchecker from Japan; and Cambridge and Nottingham in the UK.

Once upon a time, about 45 years ago, a young grade school boy was leading an intolerable existence. There were school bullies. The boy also was radically undersocialized, which didn't help. As a matter of survival the boy turned within, and drew the cadmium control rods out of the reactor core of his imagination. He underwent a radioactive core meltdown of the imagination. A meltdown that spilt through the doors of perception, spilt over on severalfronts into somethingratherakin to synaesthesia, spilt over into an entire constructed language of his own. And that radioactive imagination has never really let up since.

Poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge argued that perception and conception can be bound together, the gap between them mediated, only through the tertium aliquid of imagination. I know what he meant. I've been living it in spades, for most of my 51 years. And I think I fathom it somewhat more deeply after blogging it these past three years. Hope you've enjoyed being along for the ride.

'Opera 9 from Zionsville, Indiana', here. To put a name with the stats, I'm Noah. I'm not sure if it was TJIC, John C. Wright or Francis Poretto that sent me over here, but I'm glad they did. I've enjoyed your fiction, even the ones I'm still not sure I understand (Yellowstripes) and the ones that chilled me (Bearing Light). All in all, thank you for letting us share in your imagination.

I should also note that while I'm not sure what it is, there was something about your writing, both fiction and non-, that helped to bring about my return to Christianity. If it is the key that fits the lock, then your fingers helped to turn it.

Now, on to your departure from blogging...

All stories end; this was a good one.

All that I ask is that you please archive what you have written somewhere. Struggle for a while against the ephemeral nature of the 'net.

Noah, to hear that my writings have somehow played a role in your return to Christianity moves me more than I know how to put into words.

I will indeed leave this blog up as long as Google/Blogger will continue to host it. I also have backups of all my posts, and it would be easy enough to duplicate-post items, any time I wanted, over at my personal website.

I am sort of shocked!! You never seemed at a lose for words and now you say you have no more. WOW! But still, maybe recharge and thoughts may force you to pick up where you left off. I will be stopping by your website still, that was always interesting to poke through. Peace.David

Just heard the news from a friend (one of your regulars, I'm sure you know who). I certainly understand, when I quit blogging due to real-life time constraints, I thought I'd resume later. It's been over a year since I blogged on a regular basis and while I still think someday I'll make the time to resume, it will not be anytime soon.